Office Policies

Welcome to our practice. Our mission is to provide the best urologic care available in the Chicago area. A wide range of services, including imaging, blood draws and minor surgery are provided at our three office locations. We are on staff at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital and Advocate Sherman Hospital. Our physicians and staff are dedicated to treating patients with compassion and respect, and it is our goal that every patient feels better physically and emotionally.

Office Hours

Our Crystal Lake, Elgin and Lake Barrington offices are open five days a week from 8:30am to 4:30pm. We do not have evening or weekend hours.

Appointments

Appointments can be made in person or via phone. Patients requiring urgent visits will be seen within 24 hours of contacting our office, excluding weekends and holidays. Our well-trained office staff will determine if your problem is urgent when you contact the office.

Be sure to bring a list of your medications so that we can update your medical records. Also, make staff aware of any allergies or changes in your health history. Click here for Forms, which are available on our website to help you organize your information. Bring a computer disc containing a copy of any x-rays or other radiology images that were performed at other facilities. If an electronic version is not available, a hard copy is fine. The disc can be obtained at the facility at which the x-ray or other imaging service was performed. Bring a copy of all recent laboratory testing.

We strongly suggest that all patients requiring a follow up appointment make an appointment at the time of checkout.

Financial

Once your insurance carrier has reconciled your account, you will receive a statement from our billing department indicating the amount due directly from you. You can make a payment with a credit card, check or cash. Payment plans are available. For accounts that are unpaid and unaddressed for 60 days following the initial statement, these accounts may go to collection or to our attorney. If Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC commences collection activities to collect any payment due, you will be responsible for and pay all reasonable collection expenses and fees incurred by Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC. If Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC commences legal proceedings to collect any payment due, you will be responsible for all reasonable attorneys’ fees, court costs and other reasonable collection expenses incurred by Comprehensive Urologic Care, SC.

Patients without insurance coverage are responsible for payments the day the service is provided. Our staff can provide information regarding costs and payment options.

On occasion, your physician may provide you with a service that is not covered by your insurance plan. For a service that is not expected to be covered, your physician or patient liaison will provide you with an Advance Beneficiary Notification form (“ABN”), explaining that the service may not be covered by your insurance, and provide the charge of the service. We require that you sign the ABN in advance in order to receive the service. You may elect to sign the ABN and receive the service, or to not sign the ABN and not receive the service. If you sign the ABN and your insurance carrier indicates that the service provided is not covered under your plan, you will be responsible for the charges with the service.

Cancellation

An automated phone system will call you 48 hours prior to your anticipated visit as a reminder. Please note, as time has been reserved for you, we require a 24 hour notice for all cancelled appointments. Appointments missed or cancelled without proper notice will be charged in accordance to our office policy. For patients who repeatedly miss or cancel appointments without appropriate notification, the practice reserves the right to require a non-refundable $100 prepayment to reschedule. This payment will be applied to your charges when services are provided.

Insurance

We are aware that understanding the intricacies of medical insurance can be difficult. Our staff can help answer general questions regarding insurance plans, but ultimately it is your responsibility to know the specifics of your health insurance plan. You are expected to satisfy any co-payment obligations required by your insurance carrier at the time services are provided to you. If you are unable to pay a required co-payment amount at the time of your visit, and you are insured through a commercial carrier, we reserve the right to send you a bill for an amount equal to the co-payment amount due, plus a $10 administrative fee.

For patients with a PPO plan, please check to make sure that we participate with your plan. If we are in-network, we will bill your primary and secondary insurance carriers. You are responsible for deductibles and percent payment as stipulated by your plan. If we do not participate with your plan, we can see you on an out-of-network basis. Review your plan coverage for out-of-network benefits.

For patients with an HMO plan, patients are responsible for obtaining a referral for office visits and procedures. If you do not have a referral that is current, you cannot be seen in the office unless you assume financial responsibility for the services provided. Our staff may be able to assist you in obtaining a referral when needed. We will bill your insurance carrier.

Our practice participates in the Medicare program. Patients are responsible for deductibles and 20% of contracted amounts. Our practice does not participate in any Medicare replacement plans, commonly known as Medicare Advantage Plans, at this time.

Telephone Calls

We attempt to answer all calls with a live person during regular business hours. After hours we utilize an answering service. An on-call physician is available seven days a week, 24 hours a day for emergency calls. Please do not leave urgent messages in a voicemail or on the answering machine. All urgent messages need to be addressed by our office staff or the on-call physician.

Health Assistant Calls

Our staff has been trained to provide instructions about on-going medical care and pre/post operative instructions. A health assistant can give test results but cannot provide interpretation or analysis of these results.

Telephone Consults

If a call requires a physician to initiate or coordinate care and you cannot or do not want to come to the office to have these services provided, you will billed at a rate of $50/10 minutes. This type of care is not covered by insurance plans and, therefore, you will be required to pay for this at the time it is rendered by submitting credit card information when you make the appointment.

Delays

Our physicians and staff make every effort to remain on schedule throughout the day; however, emergencies arise and on occasion, a patient’s care requires more time than allotted for his/her visit. The may lead to delays. Our front desk will inform you if the physician is running behind. If you cannot, or do not want to wait, you may reschedule for later in the day or on a new day.

For patients who are running late, please notify the front desk as soon as possible. We will work you into the schedule when you arrive. The front desk will let you know how long you may have to wait. If you prefer, you may reschedule.

Refills

You may request additional medication refills by having your pharmacy contact our office. We will authorize additional refills as long as your physician has seen you in the past 12 months. If you have not had a visit in the last 12 months, it is required that you have an appointment scheduled with your physician in the next four weeks from the date of your request. (A physician will determine if additional refills will be authorized.) This authorization will be provided during regular business hours and will generally be provided without a charge to you; however when a physician provides you with a new prescription, or more substantial clinical decision-making rather than a refill authorization, a charge may apply. It is not the responsibility of the on-call physician to authorize medication refills after hours. If you absolutely require a refill authorization after hours, you will be charged a $50 fee. Narcotic refills will not be authorized after business hours.

Prescriptions

Your physician may prescribe medications for you that he or she believes will best treat your condition. When selecting your medication, your physician takes into account your past medical history, the potential side effects of the medication, any interactions with other medications, the effectiveness of the drug as stated in its clinical trials, as well as his or her observation of the drug results in other patients with similar conditions. Your physician will consider a generic alternative to a brand name when it is available and appropriate.

If, for any reason, you find that your prescribed medication is not right for you, including the cost of the medication, you may arrange for a telephone consultation with your physician to discuss a medication change. Your insurance company will not cover consultations over the phone, and you will be responsible for any charges incurred.

We have found that insurance companies and pharmacies may try to substitute a medicine that is financially better for them but does not take into consideration what is best for your health. Other insurances may try to ration the medications they provide by requiring our staff and your physician to complete lengthy forms. There is a $25.00 processing fee to complete any pre-authorization or appeal on your behalf for medication.